Filgotinib is already in Phase III for rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Although rheumatoid arthritis is a big market expected to hit an overwhelming €76B ($80.7B) by 2020, it is already crowded with big players. Humira (adalimumab), the top-selling drug developed by AbbVie, generated €13B ($14B) last year, and will soon be replaced by biosimilars in the pipelines of Boehringer Ingelheim, MSD, Amgen, Pfizer and Novartis’ Sandoz among others.

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Galapagos’ pipeline

With the addition of ulcerative colitis to its indications, the drug could bring high revenues. The ulcerative colitis market has a decent size, being expected to reach €4B ($4.2B) by 2023, and much less competition. The team’s main rivals for filgotinib will be Johnson & Johson’sRemicade (infliximab) and a biosimilar from the South Korean CellTrion.

Galapagos and Gilead seem to be facing a very competititve landscape, so the results of the trial will be crucial to determine whether they can outperform their rivals. For now, the team will have to wait for data from clinical trials on the three indications of filgotinib, which are expected in 2020.

Featured image by IURII BURIAK/shutterstock.com; figure from Galapagos

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